“He’s more himself, I guess,” Dolphins receiver Brian Hartline said. “He doesn’t seem as rigid. He’s easy to talk to. Probably a combination of that is us getting used to being around with him.

“He’s a lot of fun,” Hartline added. “He’s got a great sense of humor, and once you get that, he’s going to be more fun to be around.”

And he has shown that even his no-off-field-embarrassments rule isn’t hard and fast.

Yes, Philbin cut Johnson during last season’s training camp just hours after he got out of jail. But Philbin also gave second chances to Jonathon Amaya and Evan Rodriguez after their respective arrests.

Amaya was accused of assaulting a cab driver — a charge that was later dropped — but Philbin allowed him to finish the season on the team. (He’s now a member of the Arizona Cardinals.)

And Philbin green-lit the recent signing of Rodriguez, a fullback who has been arrested twice this offseason. (“I feel like I’m getting a second chance,” a grateful Rodriguez said last week.)

But even if his demeanor has changed, Philbin’s core principles have not.

Philbin said Rodriguez’s background was discussed — and surely weighed — before agreeing to offer him a contract. He still doesn’t like trash-talking in the media.

And his parting message to his veteran players just before the team broke for the summer: Keep your nose clean, because you are a representative of the Miami Dolphins 365 days a year.

“He’s the same,” center Mike Pouncey said. “He’s the commander-in-chief, he likes to run a program one way, he’s very straightforward about it, and he’s going to do a great job rebuilding, and building this team from now on out.”

Added Wake: “We still get after it. We know what he wants, what he expects and we make sure we do it on the field.”

Beelzecheat could get it for continuing to breathe for the year, with way the media is up his gastrointestinals.

Fri Jun 21, 2013 11:46 pm

wkloiber13

Phinfever Legend

Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:59 pmPosts: 5117

Re: Joe Philbin more relaxed in year 2

I like that Philbin wants to clean up the Miami Dolphins image. While my memories of Shula are a little fuzzy these days, I seem to remember the Miami Dolphins being a much more classy organization when he was the coach. Philbin seems to be bringing that trend back. I like it.